Category: Not Fit for Human Consumption

1 gallon warm water (the stuff you drain out of your fish tank/bowl is great for this purpose)

1/4 teaspoon unsweetened instant tea granules

1/2 teaspoon Knox gelatin

1/2 teaspoon household ammonia (omit if you’re using ‘fishy’ water)

1/2 teaspoon Dr. Bronner’s 18-in-1 Hemp Peppermint Pure-Castile Soap

1 capful of whiskey

10 percent of the recommended dosage of plant food

Once a month in the Spring, Summer, and Fall, and once in the Winter add: 4 One-a-Day With Iron or similar type vitamin with iron tablets or capsules

Fill a one gallon jug with about one inch of very hot water. Add the gelatin and shake really well to dissolve. Add the rest of the water and remaining ingredients.

When adding the vitamins, it’s best to do so the day before you need to use this, thus allowing the pills plenty of time to dissolve.

Use it every time you water your plants. No need to add anything.

This is recipe based on one I found in a book called “Plants are Still Like People” by Jerry Baker. I”ve been playing with it for a couple of years and you may have seen one of the earlier versions here.

I decided to omit the ammonia when using my tank water this year, when I started my container vegetable garden. The ammonia provides nitrogen and too much is not a good thing. In fact, you might even consider using a flowering plant food if you want to grow such goodies as melons, tomatoes, and other fruiting plants in your garden, as Baker suggests in his book. He also recommends changing your fertilizer regularly since each plant reacts differently to each kind of fertilizer.